Coronavirus Update #26
Special Thank You Message, Case Study, Locating Child Care,
and Hand Sanitizer Demand Form
Special Thank You Audio Message

HFAM has recorded a special thank you to those of you working in Maryland skilled nursing and rehabilitation centers and on assisted living campuses. Please distribute broadly to your teams.

We are all navigating together in these uncharted waters of the COVID-19 pandemic. Now more than ever, it is important that we recognize we are in this together, and that we are stronger together.

The names in the recording are real and from some of our HFAM member centers.
COVID-19 Case Study (Not Maryland)

Please see this Case Study that HFAM very recently wrote after being contacted by a SNF provider in another part of the country.

Please review this case study and share with your teams -- it includes critical insight and real time experience.
Child Care for Essential Personnel

Maryland Family Network (MFN) is partnering with the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) to make it fast and easy for essential personnel to find safe quality child care during the State of Emergency.

Maryland’s child care providers are essential to stemming the spread of and finding a cure for the COVID-19 pandemic. Our region is teeming with the Nation’s top researchers, doctors, and policy makers. As the Coronavirus continues to spread and demands on these and other essential personnel grows, they need to know their children are safe in order to stay focused on keeping the rest of us safe and healthy.

Visit this site to learn more or call 877-261-0060 to locate child care.
Hand Sanitizer Demand Form from MD Distillers

Many Maryland distilleries have converted their operations to help meet the current demand for hand sanitizer. The Maryland Distillers Guild is currently taking inventory of demand.

Please take a moment to fill out this form to share your needs.

(Note: this form is not intended to support personal requests, given the limited availability.)
CMS Call Today: COVID-19 with Nursing Homes 

Please join the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) for a call on COVID-19 with Nursing Homes today at 4:30 PM EST . CMS leadership will provide updates on the agency’s latest guidance. There will be audience Q&A and an opportunity for you to share best practices with your peers. The call will be recorded if you are unable to join. 
 
Wednesday, March 25th 
4:30 – 5:00 PM EST 
Attendee Dial-In: (877) 251-0301 Conference ID: 7983218 
SNF Bed Survey Reminder

  • As we continue to advise, Maryland post-acute providers can accept hard to place non-Covid-19 hospital transfers now in order to help free-up acute care in hospitals for COVID-19 patients.

  • Hard to place patients include those who have high drug costs that are paid for in hospitals, but not in SNFs. We will continue to work with AHCA/NCAL, with our Congressional Delegation, and with the Hogan team for CMS regulatory and financial relief on this front.

  • No decisions yet. But in advance of the acute care surge associated with COVID-19, it is important that we inventory SNF capacity to take non-COVID-19 med/surg patients to free-up acute care space. 

  • For the future, plan now: we strongly urge SNFs to begin now creating separate wings, units, or floors by moving current residents to handle future full surge admissions from the hospitals and keep current residents separate, if possible.

Please complete this SNF bed capacity survey ASAP. Note that this survey should be completed once per center ; please make sure the appropriate person on your team completes the survey.
Did you miss HFAM's previous alerts?

Visit our website to view all previous HFAM alerts, as well as guidance
from our federal and state partners.
Please email COVID19@ahca.org for additional questions, and visit
www.ahcancal.org/coronavirus for additional information and resources.
Thank you.

We cannot thank you enough for the dedication and diligence in doing all that you can for the residents in your communities. HFAM continues to monitor the COVID-19 pandemic with our state and national partners and will do all we can to support you during this time.